Colic in newborn children

More than half of children between the ages of three weeks and three months (sometimes a little longer) experience painful sensations in the abdomen - colic, associated with periodic intestinal spasms and excessive gas formation. The appearance of intestinal colic in a newborn gives parents a lot of anxiety and sleepless nights. The mother's anxiety is immediately transmitted to the baby, which worsens his condition. However, it is easy to help in such situations, you need to consult a pediatrician, remember the main causes of the malaise and what relieves the attack.

Reasons

Important: colic at this age is extremely rarely a sign of pathology. Most often, this is the result of "tuning" of the digestive system. But this fact is not a reason to neglect the pediatrician's consultation and treat the child with the recommendations of grandmothers or strangers from the network. Each case is individual, and wasted time at such a tender age can lead to irreparable consequences.

Causes of colic in a newborn baby:

• anatomical and functional imperfection of the innervation of the muscles and inner layer of the intestinal system of children, which leads to disturbances in the regulation of the intestines and deterioration of food absorption;
• inadaptability of the intestinal tract to the act of digestion. What is eaten is absorbed with a delay, which leads to excessive stretching of the walls and excess gases in the large intestine. In response to this, painful spasms and severe colic occur in the intestines of a newborn;
• consumption by the baby's mother of products containing substances that can be transferred with milk and cause excessive gas formation in babies;
• improper preparation of mixtures of artificial nutrition;
• swallowing a large amount of air. Some children quickly suck milk, leak the nipple, and a large amount of air masses enters their stomach with food. Some mothers forget after feeding to carry the child in their arms in a vertical position, in which gastric gases will not pass to the intestines, but will leave with belching;
• congenital weakness of the muscles of the abdominal wall. This feature contributes to the strengthening of colic in the stomach of a newborn child;
• overfeeding;
• hormonal failures in mothers;
• various pathologies (dysbacteriosis, intestinal infections, lactose deficiency, milk allergy, infectious diseases, etc.).

Any of the mentioned causes of colic and gas in a newborn leads to painful sensations and requires the consultation of a pediatrician.

How intestinal colic manifests itself in babies

In the first months of life, the baby reports any discomfort by crying. People surrounding the baby must learn to understand when the child is crying because of hunger, when - because of nervous overexcitement, when - because of a tummy ache.

Colic in the stomach of babies flows from:

• with a persistent and strong cry;
• redness of the face, on which a grimace of pain is reflected, the child shows tension, sometimes drops of sweat appear on the body;
• motor hyperactivity - the child bends his legs to the stomach, kicks them;
• indigestion - vomiting, constipation.

On average, an attack of colic in babies lasts from half an hour to three hours. Sometimes intestinal paroxysms occur several times a day, most often at the same time of the day, usually after feeding in the evening. Severe colic in babies is accompanied by poor sleep and irritability. The appearance of the baby scares the parents. In any case, it is necessary to consult a pediatrician or call an ambulance. After three months, the manifestation of colic gradually weakens and disappears in the fourth or fifth month.

Severe colic in a child should be distinguished from:

• symptoms of acute appendicitis;
• a sign of childhood pyelonephritis;
• acute intestinal obstruction;
• some types of immediate allergic reactions;
• acute forms of intestinal infectious diseases;
• disease of the nervous system;
• congenital enzyme deficiency syndromes.

With colic caused by physiological reasons, there are rarely attacks of vomiting and rashes on the skin, during an attack there is no cough, no diarrhea, and the temperature usually does not rise. These symptoms are characteristic of other children's pathologies. Baby colic develops more often in newborn boys than in girls.

Treatment of intestinal colic in infants

In most cases, the problem can be eliminated or greatly alleviated by strictly following the rules of breastfeeding, the mother's diet, and recommendations for artificial feeding. Traditional medicine can be a good help in this case. In more severe cases, medical treatment of colic in infants is required.

Complex therapy should be started after an examination by a pediatrician or pediatric gastroenterologist. A breastfeeding mother should take care of proper nutrition. Breastfeeding requires the exclusion from the diet of fatty and smoked products, yeast varieties of bread, fermented vegetables, legumes. You should also give up butter products, candies and chocolate. Dangerous hot spices.

Treatment of intestinal colic in babies is a set of measures, which includes:

• dry heat on the stomach during an attack (a warm diaper folded in several layers);
• gently massage the tummy clockwise;
• carrying the child in the arms in an upright position after feeding;
• laying the child on the stomach;
• warm baths.

You should consult your doctor about how to fight colic in newborns using traditional medicine methods and whether it should be done in your case. It is best to use ready-made herbal preparations containing dill and mint leaves. Fennel helps well. Restless children can be given tea with chamomile.

Drug treatment of intestinal colic in newborns consists of prescribing:

• preparations containing Simethicone (a carminative drug with defoamer properties);
• antispasmodics (usually in the form of suppositories);
• children's doses of sorbents (Enterosgel);
• probiotics (to normalize intestinal flora).

If your child has a similar problem and you do not know how to deal with colic in a newborn yourself, then you should look for information on this issue on the website of our clinic: https://dobrobut.com/. Articles, recommendations, patient reviews, and information about doctors will help you ease your child's condition.

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